Cultured Milk
I don't like milk. I never have. I think that this has been exacerbated by the fact that cow's milk tastes weird to me. We raised dairy goats when I was a kid and so we had raw goat's milk and only drank cow's milk if we happened to run out. At any rate, I didn't care much for goat's milk either. I always worry that I'm not getting enough calcium, especially while I'm trying to lose weight [since studies show that getting enough low-fat dairy helps with that.] I love yogurt and try to eat that often, but sometimes I'm in a hurry. Tillamook makes yogurt smoothies that are great for this but they're about the cost of 3 containers of yogurt and have roughly twice the sugar. While doing our weekly grocery shopping yesterday I spotted Nancy's Kefir Cultured Milk. At 75 cents it was more expensive than my yogurt and higher in both fat and calories but it seemed much higher on the ease factor. Plus, I'd still get all the benefits of the active cultures. So, this morning I worked out a little bit and then grabbed the carton from the fridge. I shook it, opened it, and smelled it. The smell wasn't great but that didn't deter me. I poured it into a glass and even with vigorous shaking, it remained a bit chunky. I took a small sip and nearly gagged. The taste to me was like the smell from a goat's udder. I took a second sip just in case my first was more a reaction to the smell. Nope, still tasted like the smell of an udder. So, quick and easy not withstanding, I couldn't drink it and we won't be purchasing it again.
Cart Before the Horse?
My doppelganger made a comment about my shawl [which looks very close to the same as it did the other day so I'm not going to post a new photo] and how it's coming before the dress. Folks might have also noticed that the shoes came before the dress too. It's primarily been out of necessity. My mom [hi mom!] lives on the east coast where I grew up and I have refused to try on dresses until I can try them on with her first. I'll be going home in two weeks to do just that and I'm taking the shawl with me to make sure that if I buy something out there that the shawl won't totally clash with it.
However, the shawl has never been just an accessory for me. Instead it's a tangible symbol of how much I am putting into this relationship and the marriage. Each stitch [note there are approximately 45,000 stitches in the shawl] stands for all of the ways I am willing to work to make sure that our marriage is a long and happy one. Yep, I am a sap, expressing my love through yarn. How better? Everytime TheBoy sees me working on it he smiles, so it must be working.
Beginning the Process
So, I've begun my wedding shawl. It's Madli's Shawl from Interweave Knits Summer 2004. It's a long, lacy, rectangular shawl with lots of fun "nupps" which are kind of a pain to knit, but I like how they look. I started it three days ago and have gotten through the first border and two repeats of the center lace motif. I'm knitting it in pale blue yarn from Knitpicks, 100% alpaca [Alpaca Cloud in Heaven--I think] It's lovely to work with, although my needles have a sticky join which means that I keep all my stitches scrunched up on the needle at all times. I'm using a lot of blues in the wedding. Most everything will be turquoise but I'm also pulling in peacock blue and pale blue as well as a few shades of green for accents. I just have to hope that I don't buy a dress that the blue yarn totally clashes with. At any rate, here's my first progress photos.
An image of my total progress so far, pinned to my bed:
And a close-up of part of the lace:
I’m in Love With a Shoe.
I have located the perfect shoes for the wedding. Granted, they're on sale now which means that the color I want will likely be gone before I can get to a Fluevog store to try them on. I'm hesitant to order them online without trying them on because the return policy for sale items is to give store credit only. So, if they don't fit, I'm out $150 and have to hope that they make another pair of shoes that fit me. They're just so beautiful:
Edited to add A friend of mine pointed out that the shoes were available from Zappos.com for slightly more money. They've been bought and should be here by the end of next week! Now we just hope that they fit.
Shark Attack
Some yarn I spun recently. 3.5 ounces of merino, approximately 143 yards. Dyed in the Shark colorway from The Spunky Eclectic.